Pinehurst, N.C. — The State Bureau of Investigation has been called in to investigate the Saturday night death of a Robbins man outside FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, officials said Monday.

Relatives said Ronald Armstrong was being checked out in the emergency room when he tried to leave. Nurses called for hospital security to help restrain Armstrong, and the guards used a stun gun on him at least three times, relatives said.

Hospital spokeswoman Gretchen Kelly said security guards don't carry stun guns. She referred all other questions to the Pinehurst Police Department, which said the SBI was handling the case.

crnnoApr 28, 2011

@justink2024, Would you care to point out in any of my staements where I've said something that wasn't true. In fact my last statement did nothing but make references to the statistics about Electronic Control Devices (ECDs)aka TASERs. These are the most studied law enforcement tool ever and one of the safest tools avialible to police. It's more likely that the suspect died from a condition know as Excited Delirium. You having an emotional stake in the events naturaly puts you in a position of grief and feel as if you need to blame someone. As far as an autopsy goes, they are a matter of public record and can take 6 to 8 weeks on average and won't be released till after the SBI has finished it's investigation, before then no one will have a copy. Furthermore, I witness account are notorious for being inaccurate, especially if they are emotionally involved and lloking to point blame.

Bottom line is when the investigation is all said and done, if it shows that the Hospital and Police a

justink2024Apr 27, 2011

@ CRNNO...This happens to be my uncle that everyone is talking about and believe me we know the facts!!! Your the one that needs to do the research before posting further ignorant RUDE COMMENTS!!!! We have a family member that seen the whole thing and he was down on the first tase so why they had to do it 3 times is what we want to know!!!! My uncle was NOT ON DRUGS & DID NOT DRINK!!! He went to get HELP & instead of getting HELP he was HELPED to DEATH!!! Won't you get the facts before you post any further comments!!! HE WAS ALIVE WALKING AWAY ((NOT RUNNING BUT WALKING))....HE GOT TASERED ((3))TIMES....AND HE DIED!!!! WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WE GOT THE AUTOPSY BACK I THINK WE WOULD KNOW ALL THE FACTS!!!!

crnnoApr 27, 2011

How much do you want to bet that when an "actual" cause of death is determind it has nothing to do with the use of a TASER?! In fact the number of deaths that occur during arrests where a TASER has been used are approximately the same as deaths during arrests where a TASER is not used. In over 88% of deaths that occur during arrest the subjects suffer from atleast one if not multipule of a handful of factors, including obesity, heart disease, drug use, mental illness, etc....

And again to make it clear the guards don't have TASERs, and the use of TASERs are much less harmful than physical means. Studies have shown that the number of persons who need medical attention following an arrest has drastically declined since the introduction of TASER use in law enforcement.

Do your research people before posting further ignorant comments.Also, it might be prudent to actually know what really happened before pointing fingers and passing judgement.

bassmandan10Apr 26, 2011

One other thing, to the one comment made earlier he was not in police custody and not on drugs, he has a illness wich needed treatment, he didn't deserve to be man handled and tased to death like a animal, 3 times? be for real, They didn't have to do all that to him, animals are treated better then this.

bassmandan10Apr 26, 2011

So you people mean to tell me the police or Guards should walk up and Tase a man 3 times without a weapon? Sounds to me like someone doesn't like to get there hands dirty so they took the coward way of doing things, What ever happened to restraining the patient, he went to the hospital for help, not execution.

tarheels2011Apr 25, 2011

wildthang362003 i couldnt agree with your comments any more than what i am

wildthang362003Apr 25, 2011

"these people are often in police custody", "he should have been allowed to leave", "I think he was either intoxicated or on drugs out of control and a danger to himself and others", where are these comments is the article, pure speculation, just as my comments, conjecture. No one at this point, certainly not the commentators here, has any facts except the vague outline that is represented here, best to leave the investigation the investigators.

godnessgracious2Apr 25, 2011

Furthermore, there's only one documented case where a death has been directly linked to the use of a TASER.

And yet it happens all the time. Sounds like your research is ignoring a whole lot of death. Ignorance is the worst of all the sins so sayeth the Buddha. I don't think he was talking about not knowing things. He was talking about knowing something and then ignoring it because it is more convenient for you. Tasers kill, what is wrong with billy clubs?

wildthang362003Apr 25, 2011

continuation----No hospital pays it bills by intentionally harming its' patients and none that did could survive the intense scrutiny that would ensue.Why, instead of playing arm chair quarterback do not all of the nay sayers and people looking to sensationalize this horrific event just say a prayer for the mans family and the people involved and let the justice system sort this out.

wildthang362003Apr 25, 2011

It's pretty apparent how little most of you know about situations such as this. Have you ever heard of invloluntary committment? It's when a person poses a serious and imminent threat to oneself or to others. When a person resists involuntary commitment they must be subdued and admitted their will, hence involuntary, and many times under a judges order. Now if the cops are invloved and there is resistance, then guess what, you get subdued, either with a billy stick, taser or whatever means they deem necessary. Now, add alcohol, drugs and mental instability to the mix, what do you have? A very volitale and very serious issue for all involved. Unfortunatey, something occurred in this instance that is not fully understood at the momnet, but with the help of the SBI, an investigation is apparently underway.